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Barnes bullet seating depth

I'm loading up some Barnes 210 grains in my 338. I've loaded Hornady and Sierra in the past and all of the overall cartridge lengths were shorter than spec. With the Barnes the overall length is longer than spec. I remember loading some high BC bullets in the past and they were a little bit longer. Am I safe in assuming that if I seat the bullets to the same depth as the Sierras they will not hit the rifling? I've measured with my micrometer and it seems that Barnes is longer, but gets skinnier quicker (if that makes sense). The bolt on the rifle closes with the same force on both the Sierras and Barnes and I don't see any visible marks on the bullets. Any thoughts.

Your'e right the Barnes is skinnier, it has a longer tangental ogive. It most likely won't touch the rifling if the Sierras don't but there is only one way to make sure. Also all the trail marker gibberish about seating the TSX .050" from the rifling is so much drivel IF you want to cycle the rounds from the magazine. Some model don't fit all tracks. Most of us who buy repeaters want to use them as such.

So size a case down 1/8" on the neck, seat the bullet in an empty case just slightly, enough to hold it. Chamber the round. This will push the bullet into the case and it will stop at the rifling contact length. Try this a few times to be sure of a good measure. Then check if this rifling length round will fit the magazine. If not, determine the difference, and adjust accordingly. If it does still fit the magazine then seat the bullet .050" deeper and shoot.

You must know at what length any bullet will contact the rifling in your gun. I write this Over All Contact Length in my loading log for each bullet. Then a quick measure with the caliper will tell where any bullet will be in relation to the rifling. Each bullet for each rifle is different. BTW, longer isn't higher BC.

Is there nothing so sacred on this earth that you aren't willing to kill or die for?

It's a fact, the TSX's do like to be seated further off the lands than other bullets. The .050" rule that the professor referenced is a good one for the TSX's, and I have followed it with many different calibers and rifles when seating this bullet. It's a good starting baseline.

It's a fact, the TSX's do like to be seated further off the lands than other bullets. The .050" rule that the professor referenced is a good one for the TSX's, and I have followed it with many different calibers and rifles when seating this bullet. It's a good starting baseline.

Doc

I know its a different caliber (300 wsm) but I have had best results at .070-.085 off the lands with the TTSX bullets. Just dont ask me why, it really doesnt make any sense to me.

Thanks for the advice. I gave it a go and was surprised at how deep I've been seating my bullets. Right now I'm about .08 off the lands without changing the setting on my dies. I've got 6 rounds loaded and ready to head to the range this week. Will lessen the seating depth if I don't get a good group. My dies were adjusted years ago with some old Hornady bullets.